signed please sign up. sign that up. >> for more information visit the author's web site, daniel stashower.com. >> welcome to booktv, 48 hours of nonfiction authors and books every weekend on c-span2. here are some of the programs you will see this weekend on booktv. steven jimenez argues the killing of matthew sheppard was not an anti-gay hate crime but the results of a drug-related robbery gone wrong. phyllis cit led describes her experiences as a jewish woman in afghanistan married to a muslim fundamentalist. rich benjamin talks about his book down to the crossroads, civil rights, black power and the march against fear on

booktv's after words. historian harlow under recounts how george washington transform the office of the president. all this and more on booktv on c-span2 this weekend. the full schedule is available at booktv.org. >> most people don't understand how it works. a lot of people write books and spend the next two years trying to get somebody to publish their books. i have never experienced that. people say how do you get a book published? i say look, but i finally felt i had something. write books for the purpose of writing books. the first three, four books actually i did with a co-writer.

basically i would dictate them to a tape recorder and sent them the tapes and they would transcribe things. i did myself with my wife, she did a lot of research and helped with editing and of course she is quick to point out this is the first one that hit number one on the new york times best-seller list. i enjoy working with my wife so certainly i will be doing that from now on. fortunately it does tend to come pretty easily. it is very much like speaking. when i give a speech i don't have a written text. i just go up there and survey

the situation and ask what kind of audience we have and i have a few points i want to make sure that i make that i have written on a card and start speaking to. basically i write the same way. i have a chat -- a chapter title and i will write down some bullet points out what to order. and start dictating. it is very much -- i asked god to guide me in my riding, to give me wisdom in terms of what points need to be brought out.fo it does a pretty good job with that. >> we're back with two authors on a new book on hillary clinton, senior white house correspondent at the hill and jonathan allen who is now at bloomberg news, white house correspondent for them,

co-author of h r c -- "hrc". what story trying to tell about hillary clinton?at story >> a couple storylines. are y one is a come back story. she has been through a lot during the 2008 campaign. how would i come back? i found that fascinating. anyone know matter their party affiliation would find that fascinating. the other thing is how she would govern if she were president and we wanted to look at this, her biggest management job.she weree how does she manages 70,000 job. person bureaucracy, how would ho she govern? what decisions as she made?n all these things are highlightem in the book.nd herse >> if you are trying to figure f out what kind of president would she make she runs in 2016, what did you think you needed to say about her? what ki >> how it is she makes decisions, what she puts an ut w emphasis on, what her priorities are for the people around her, a

she has had a lot of experience and nobody campaigns very successfully, the ultimate ns se washington insider on television but not necessarily for presidential candidates, but the truth is what we see with a lot of recent presidents his didate. inability to maneuver in ee washington, to work with congress, lack of understandingn how agencies work with a private or public sector, we want to ger an idea ofk views on those things. one of the things we found is oe she has seen this having action to do things, be willing to takh some risks in order to take some risks in order to try to achieve something and most politicians are risk averse. >> what did you learn about her? her personality, her decisionmaking, what did you , hened?

>> one of the big things is bias fraction that she has, that is clear throughout the book. the we learned she is quite a retail politician in her own right. we think of bill clinton, her husband as the gregarious guy but she does it too.we we have a story of how when she walks the state department she t spent 16,000 thank you notes to people, 5,000 handwritten which was quite a task and we thoughtt that was interesting and she kept tabs on politics.also how e she was away, traveled to 112 countries but she always had hea pulse on what was happening. had he >>r advisers in terms of politics, in 2016, we detail how she kept the operation flowing u and continued to reach out to tn the business community to donora and supporters throughout her time the state department, settle scores on the campaign t trail, how president obama with

reelection, all these steps in . position for 2016 potentially. going back to thinking people, presidential campaigns don't work out, candidate end, it is the end of the road for him. you was thinking ahead, kept up with these folks. end not only does it help in winning an election or keeping your supporters with you but it also helps when you're trying to move among public policy issues latet on.lic it is classic politics. the kind of thing old school city mayors would do and something i think is one of hillary clinton is ways of reaching out to people. wa husband has that great charisma and personal charisma in terms of winning people over. she has to work harder at it. >> there's a lot in here about bill clinton and what he is doing at the same time she is ng secretary of state.ere about why did you include that in the book?e is secreta why does that matter? >> they are interwoven.

i tell the story all the time i see her as her own person. he is so much a part of her life is hard to separate the plea to his storyindi is her story. her story is his story. they are tied together for good and bad. >> what her age agree with that or like it?gether for g >> if there were a truth serum they would agree with it. i am not sure they necessary gus like -- i know they don't like all the things in the book but there are these sort of hillary land and bill world.up their own strategies for getting things done is a lot of conflict. >> did you hear from the for secretary of state?a lot of >> we are n cot talking about w we spoke to but we are happy with the access we got. >> the reaction to it?guest: have you heard from --

>> we heard mixed reviews.s. some clintonites are not happy with it.py with >> that is a good way to say it. one of the headlines from the book was this hit list that hillary clinton aides got after the primary where they attract people that were not trading particular the well and clintond went on the campaign trail. theo plewho do not treat her particularly well and then bill clinton went out on the campaign trail and not many of them out in the primaries. nobody in clinton land like that at all. >> there was one part where you talk about clerc mechanical and how much she is disliked by the clinton camp? >> to this day it is interesting. she is one of the people who has come out early to endorse hillary clinton. she ran in 2016. it date to 2006. the clintons campaigned for her, fundraiser for her and she was

on meet the press, i wouldn't want my daughter near him. that anger a lot of clintonites. following that she said she made this quick to a friend were she said i don't think -- i wouldn't want to be caught stuck in an elevator with her which we found interesting. >> senator mike castle --mcca i --mccaskill endorsed senator obama. at clinton campaign headquarters people were hoisting their tv sets anytime they saw her on washington journal. she would be on every morning so now we have seen this -- claire mccaskill is trying to get back and bill clinton's good graces.

when you talk to their aides they still hate her. that is not going to change anytime soon. >> back to her decisionmaking process, this is one part from your book. she had something more driving herds in power. she has a strong moral compass. this is a quote from one of her a long time friends she leans into. she doesn't wear religion on her sleeve but if you had any links of conversation with her as a methodist and talk to her about her faith she would be very insightful. what do you make of the role of faith? >> something she has talked about at times, but generally reticent about, clearly is important to her, one of the things we found out is she is on the e-mail chain with a small set of old friends palmer her faith adviser in 2008, more, a longtime clinton aide who was with jesse jackson, discussing

religious teachings and quote, something where sheet doesn't go to church in public, disturbing other people's ability to worship because of the fanfare, and state department detailed. something that matters to her, her face is a branch of mechanism which has a strong component of public service in it. pcs her role to do things for the better good. not everybody agrees with her view of how that chip happen or what is the better good but it is something that is driving her. >> that played a role in her decision to accept president obama's many pleas to join her administration and takeover. >> she said no, he said think

about it. think on it. then she calls a few times and eventually what happened was he offered it to her and she said let's talk conditions and she called him back one morning. the way she explains is if she had been president-elect and senator obama then to serve for her she would have expected him to do it. she has a call for public service. it means she is a politician but this is something she believes in. >> more details to delve into from the new book "hrc," what her role was, what her responsibilities were when she took credit for it, what she did at the state department, we will get into here but first howard is up first in pennsylvania. how i, howard. >> caller: i would like to say i

think the middle class, i consider myself part of the middle class, whether you are a republican or independent or democrat, we are looking for someone to address the problem of our jobs going to china and india, bringing them back to america, i think obama made a big mistake by emphasizing health care. i think the economy is number one and our jobs. that is all i have to say. >> host: you read about the role hillary clinton played when president obama said he would push health care. >> guest: this is previously unrecorded before the book. secretary clinton asked -- generally attempting to stay out of domestic politics generally at the job as secretary of state to get involved in domestic politics. in addition because she was involved in health care in 1990s there is a little texas city she might have had for obamacare had she been publicly involved.

she was offering advice to rahm emanuel, a to president obama's top aides. her history with health care fighting in nearly 90s, she ended up talking to a few lawmakers for the white house who were considering what they should do with their votes and we write about a scene in 2009 right after the tea party summer as it were in september of 2009 and basically all the cabinet members were starting to get upset. there was frustration and complaint with the white house's agenda given complete subsumed by health care and health care was going to bring down the party and bring down the rest of the agenda. hillary clinton made a plea for the rest of the cabinet members to get to president obama. there isn't an opportunity like this that comes along very often. we are better set up that we were under the clinton administration. let's get this done. folks in the administration told us that was then underappreciate

it moment. it was still a pretty pivotal moment where she was bringing the the force of her political weight behind president obama in front of all these leading democrats. >> host: you have this picture of obama received in a congratulatory hug from hillary clinton the day after the house passed the portable care act. clinton pushed for health care reform when her husband was president. supporters of obama insisted it be passed and spoke up on the president's behalf as you were describing. let's go to bob in illinois. >> caller: good morning, look forward to reading your book. i have two questions. we are told we shouldn't talk about the past with secretary clinton so looking forward as she does i wonder if you guys would rank her accomplishments as secretary of state. would it be reset with russia, slowing down iran's involvement in developing a nuclear bomb, egypt, syria, benghazi? how would you rank those and

number 2, we saw the photo of a osama bin laden was taken down, the white house situation room. as far as we know hillary clinton and the president were in washington when that happened. all your interviews and research did you ever see also in the situation room or know where she was during that day? thank you. >> a couple things. let's talk about her accomplishments at the state department. go-ahead, amie barnes. >> guest: one of her biggest things is she did support the president. she was a big advocate for him on issues like libya, the afghan surge, the race for osama bin laden, the reset button is also a big moment for her. and other moments that john can talk about. >> guest: generally speaking the united states was seen better around the world after the first term of the obama administration and she was chief advocate for the united states abroad so

relationships with european partners improved. you saw said relationships in the arab world improved. not everything got better in the way we were perceived but that was an important thing when she contributed and she also elevated development and diplomacy as part of american foreign policy for so long. elevated development and diplomacy as part of american foreign policy for so long in the post-9/11 world. american foreign-policy was all combat. it was all military. that elevation of diplomacy as part of the foreign-policy mix was an important accomplishment and it would've been harder for some folks with less influence to do it as fast in the american government. >> what about weighing in on the controversial issues that the secretary of state has to take on. the middle east peace process. >> there is obviously no middle east peace. she did not get israelis to sit down and join hands. nor has anybody else in a long

time. and the white house really wanted to control >> she had a special envoy for the middle east and he becameest frustrate and ended up quitting. with regard to the middle east, the last time there was an out outbreak of violence, hilary clinton went in and handled the conflict to get a seize fire. she wasn't sure how long it would hold, but it has held for a year and a half so far. no long-term peace deal, though. >> the head of the cia came to her one day in the situation room and i said i want to talk to you about something. they planned a secret meeting

where he came for lunch. no one knew about it. and he wanted her by-in for the raid on laden and we think that is a pivotal moment because he saw she has the so-called bias for action and she wanted her support on that. >> and she disagrees with defense secretary gates. >> and this is someone she al n aligned with and they shared many opinions. >> she was the hawk in the meetings and biden was the dove and president obama took a more hawkish position than most thought. >> you do write she and president obama were in washington the day of the raid,

correct? >> the bin laden raid? yes. >> there was a funny moment the night before where it is like what happens if this interferes with the whitehouse correspondents dinner and she used a curse word and said who curse word cares >> and the president had to change his jokes because he knew what was going to happen but others didn't. including the person who wrote the joke. >> they didn't know romney was going to be the nominee.

and they went through and gave all of the likelihoods of candidates and assigned them names and stuff and they had to change it because of the raid going down. >> let's get students involved. our c-span bus has been touring the country. it is at ohio state university and we have six political science majors aboard. starting with krista johnson. >> with such an extensive history in the spotlight, positive and negative, it seems remarkable hilary clinton has been able to maintain a positive image to most americans. what is the reason for that?

>> part is resilliance. she has been up and down and when she is knocked down, she doesn't stay down. for her enemy respect the fight and see her as an inspiration for coming back and back. we saw she wasn't poplar running as a front runner and we are seeing that in 2016. but as the underdog she grandmother -- gained more and that is why the book is so readable. >> and she had high numbers while at the state department. and she was told largely by one

of her friends because you're not in politics. >> and now the numbers are coming down already. and her friend advised had her on the way to the general ass assembly, she said once you come back to the politics, watch out because your numbers are high now, but watch out. >> gerald is up next. >> good morning, how are you on this beautiful morning? >> doing just fine. what is your comment or question? >> nothing is finer than being in carolina. >> i am a disabled vietnam vet. i think most americans don't confuse the definition of

scandal which is without proof. the second item is benghazi. most people are leaving out the bi-citizen report where she refused security from august 16th until september 11th when the commander offered it. and the situation in syria, where russia is intervening, why don't we offer them the warm water port, the only one they have, and say if they run it the way britain did hong kong for 50 years and we could settle the problem. >> scandal versus accusations.

>> we are hearing monica's name coming up and there is difficulty in how to handle it in the republican party. you have rove saying there is no such we can focusing on, why are we dredging up the past. so they have to decide how to handle that. but i don't think you will hear a peep on the clintons from this. and here is a tweet from the viewer that says benghazi disequalifies hilary clinton as commander in chief in her words get over it. >> i think the book has the most serious, independent, non-partisan, if i am bias i missed it, description of what happened in benghazi and the decision to be into libya and how health care put that c

together. and new details about what was going on at the state department, and the aftermath with with the talking point and briefing point and that famous moment in the senate hearing where she said what difference at this point does it make. as far as benghazi goes, she said it is her biggest regret. there is no evidence that the request for more security in tripoli which is a long distance from benghazi made it to her desk or near her desk. she says she is responsible. the question for blame lies with the terrorist first for foremost. and then the senate report we

have heard since we finished the book is suggesting that chris stevens wanted to be out there in this dangerous place. he wanted to be talking to the libyans and trying to sell america as best as possible without tanks and guns behind him. whether an ambassador should be making that on their own in a dangerous place is a roeasoreas question. i would recommend readers read the part on benghazi particularly. >> let's go pack to iowa as we have students from the iowa state university. morgan todd is next. >> thank you for having me. i was curious when it came to gathering the research for your book, what was the biggest obsto obstiical you faced it?

>> it was a long process. i think the research was really particular difficult. but it was hard to get access. i mean this was a very quite world. and john and had both had sources on the hill and at the state department and at the whitehouse. what we tried to do was cobble together our source list and talk to as many people as possible. we talked to more than 200 people for the book. people that do and don't like her, everyone is in there. >> i think it is unusual for two reporters to have totally different source list. there is very little overlap on people we talked to on the hill and inside the capital. but another thing i found very difficult and challenging i should say it is the state department rejects the actings

we -- acts and i was surprised the types of things we got rejected on. >> nancy in texas. independent caller. >> i have two point of view. what we need in the whitehouse -- we don't need all of these politicians and old blood. we need new blood and leaders. >> got your point nancy >> that is a tricky one for the clintons. they bring back a lot of baggage. but clinton's approval ratings in the '70s, and hilary clinton ratings back then with just as high. >> i think it is why you see carl rove and other republican leaders saying this isn't

fertile ground, the scandals from the '90s, if it didn't hurt bill clinton polytpoliticalally will probably not hurt hillary. >> this is tweeted in: nearly all of the female democrats i know, want hilary clinton to be president. >> i am sure there are some, but if is as a smaller vote. >> what about the female vote? i know to show the viewers the concession speech from 2008 >> although we were not able to shatter that highest, hardest glass ceiling this time, thanks to you it has 18 million cracks in it.

and the light is shining through like never before, filling us all with the hope and sure knowledge that the path will be easier next time. >> next time? >> next time. that was a powerful moment and probably her best speech of the campaign. jim kennedy came up with that 18 million cracks line. and i think it will be interesting to see what she does with women and i think she is going to embrace it more this time. she was reluctant to do that in this particular speech and there was back and forth about how much do i touch on the fact i am a women and i don't think she will do that this time. -- woman -- >> and there is a refrain there where she echoes the sufferage

from the 1850s. hilary clinton says i was not running as a woman, but i am a woman sort of ecoing that and showing the woman's move and the black movement as a moment of making history. that same logic could be applied for her running to be the first female president to talk to african-americans who want the ceiling to come down. later on she used harriot tubman

and unifying in one person the hopes of folks who want to see the first african-american president and those who want to see the first woman president. >> let's go back to iowa. madeleine becker? >> you describe hilary clinton as a woman of action and drawing attention to her adoption in the political ground. and you think it has inspired others to defy the traditional gender norms that hold them back? >> throughout her campain, she got -- campaign -- advice from

people that said don't embrace you are a female. after show lost, she learned she should have done that more. it does symbol to other women you can be brave and embrace. >> i want to ask the iowa crowd if they think hilary clinton could win on the crowd which is something bill couldn't do either. >> why did hillry resign from secretary of state? >> it was never her intention to stay on past four years. we have an interesting moment where aboard air force one the president asked the secretary to stay on another year.

he says will you stay and she didn't want to and left a few months later >> and you have the situation where leon said on election day he wasn't going to stick around, hilary clinton was leaving and the successor was getting destroyed on capital hill over the talk points about benghazi, and in addition for try to win over the senators, rice made more enemies than friends. he has someone leaving who is a loyal and strong advisor to him and i think he thought if he can keep hilary clinton in here, maybe we can find the next secretary of state and r

the situation. >> could kerry overshadow what she did if he decides to run? >> sure. he has a few years left to accomplish what he is going to. they are trying to clean up the syria chemical weapons, iran giving up their nuclear program and peace in the middle east and in iran the state department under hilary clinton started those decisions. so if there is a victory, that is a shared one but kerry gets credit. there is the possibility for that but the possibility for a low lot of things to go wrong. they thought they would go into the middle east and solve the

problem and as we can see the people are still being slaughtered >> given what is happening in the ukraine as the violence continues to unfold, how do you think hilary clinton shaped the decision making process and the views? >> i think john talked about this a few moments ago. she made him hoar more of a hawk and brought him further than he wanted to go. i think this was part of that calculation. what do you think on ukraine? >> we will see what happens with ukraine. the problem for the united states is we don't have the power we would like to have internationally. there was a time when the united states would speak and the other

nations responded. i think the american public thinks there is something some united states can do in a situation and this is a long-term term thing we can do with sanctionss or whatever. if you are in ukraine fighting, what america says right now might not have much influence. >> we are talking the the writers of a new book on hilary clinton. and there is this line in your book: libya's liberation for better or worse was hillary's

war. >> this could have been her crown jewel and republicans think that was the path they were taking and then benghazi happened, of course. >> in terms of it being her war, in the united states the president and many of his advisors including the defense secretary and kerry were very unsure of getting involved with libya. some knew there was a plan to go after bin laden so another strike in a sovereign nation. the europeans wanted a no-fly zo zone. you have to get the arab countries on board and the arab league has different politics within them. they were brought into a no-fly zone and then it got turned around into an actual strike

rather than enforcing a no-fly zone and all of the that diplomacy was gone done on the ground in the various capitals by the president. and then she came back to the president and said the c coallition is here. >> let's here from a republican caller >> i am a republican. i support rand paul. but i love the clintons >> go figure. >> when president clinton was in office, the economy was great. and i am sure if hilary clinton was president again, she would be great again. good >> but terry, can i ask you why you think because it was great under bill clinton, why you

assume it would be great for hilary clinton? >> she forgave her husband and his good input would help her. >> so you think she is a toopher? >> yes. >> sir, let's leave it there. that is a great example of a paul/clinton crossover voter. it would be interesting to know what he would do if they ran against each other or will do. the economy was in better shape during the clinton years than it is now. some of that is a result of policies that president clinton put in place and a lot probably isn't. the economy goes in cycles and the presidents gets too much

blame for what is going on. there is a clintonian world view when it comes to how society should operate and the role of the private sector. the clintons believe in the in the private sector and the government. and republicans tend to favor the private sector with a more unsure eye on the government and the democrats like the government but are more unsure of the private. so i would assume you would see them adopt policies that are similar >> so you made a two-for-one deal. but i think she tries to establish her own self. she got upset once someone asked

what does your husband think of this and she said i am the secretary of state. >> dakota staning is on the bus in iowa >> hilary clinton is a politician with a mile-long qualifications. she is dealing with her husband's legacy good and bad, she is deal wilderness generation the potential fallout from 2008, and being the first woman president, and a lot of strikes, i was wondering if you thought she is a viable democratic candidate for 2016. >> let me turn that to you. do you think she is? and do you think she can win

iowa? >> i have strong faith and i believe that we are ready to see hilary clinton in the whitehouse in 2016. >> i absolutely think she is a viable candidate for 2016. if you look at the polls and and they change fast, she is far from the leading democratic leader and also leading republican contenders. a lot happens over the years. i think she is viable. >> the whole landscape is set up, she has the fundraising effort, and researching effort. and they are waiting for her to jump in. >> and this was said on twitter: they showed the war on women who they those obama over hilary clinton in 2008. john a democratic from pennsylvania, what are your

thoughts? >> i have been around a little longer than the guest there. i think there has been a clear decline in the integrity. jimmy carter's post-presidency has been fantastic and all for others. where whereas, the clintons, when they retired, bill clinton was in debt. and within five years they were worth a $100 million dollar. the book and his speeches -- he went and was giving them for

$150-$250,000 a pop for a 15-minute speech at financial firms, at jewish community centers -- >> and do you think this hurts her chances? >> i think the fact is it isn't discussed >> all right. >> i think the clinton people would say they have done their share of good. bill clinton has cgi, the clinton global initiative where he travels the world and does good things. so a clinton aid would point that out >> i was hoping the caller wouldn't hold my youth against me. but these are all going to be answered in the presidential campaign or reporters like us will attempt to make them answer this. we have a scene where hilary

clinton has to raise fund for a fair in chinese and the united states has to raise money because there was a decision under the bush administration not to save money for this. there was a loophole that let the secretary of state have a little involvement. she raisgathered this group to e money and we show the story to show how involved those old clinton donors were with her work at the state department early on. we have a scene in there where bill clinton enscribes the coffee book for an aid and at the end he said we did it buddy. there was a lot of concern that

his network was going to be a c c conflict at the state department. he didn't see a problem with that. but there was definitely not a complete dissentanglement. >> you write in the first five months at state, show poured information into making sure sure it was a political tour and her invasion team was a powerful tool at state, hillary was aware technology could be the difference. >> she saw obama run circles around her campaign in terms of

technology. and she plucked one of his people, alex ross schillin, and started this moving and she implemented a lot of what she learn at state. if she were to run in 2016 she would do that again. >> does she have that team built? >> there are tech-warriors that grow up at the state department studying under people like jerry cohen who is now at google ideas and he is running alex ross' and a crop of people that are younger. they are using technology to affect political movements broad. you can train revolutionary people to upload videos of the

atrocity. and you can use gps to warn people of movements abroad. you can raise money for the haiti people very quickly. so all of this can be turned into a political campaign >> she is meeting with the heads of the giant companies like google and says use me look an app. >> she may not be able to write code, but she is understanding technology. she is the person who is detached from the mechanisms involved, but well aware of how people communicate and fu fundraise. so she is saying these companies that can help the united states with foreign policy by doing

commerce abroad and talking to foreign leaders or threatening foreign leaders and we get into the that in syria, but she is saying i want to be helpful to you in expanding your businesses and footprint in a way that is helpful to the united states and its foreign policies goal. >> and this from a woman who asked her daughter to help her send her text. and bill clinton was still receiving mail by fax. so they were stuck in the '90s and trying to progress >> nicole rodriguez is our last student on the bus in iowa. >> my question is about the hrc brand and you reference the time photograph that hillary took that ended up being the text by hilla

hillary. do you think that harmed her repetition for younger voters because it turned into a joke? >> you might have a better perspective. i have not heard that but it doesn't mean it isn't true. there might be a young segment of voters that shows she is trying to be in touch and she is out of touch. it is a careful line you have to play with poplar culture. is president obama cool because he listens to jay-z or is he just an old guy? he's credited with being hip >> she is using that on her twitter page. >> she realizes it humanizes her a bit. she wants his lighter side of her to come through. >> tim, in freeport, illinois,

independent caller. >> first, i would like to say i don't believe hilary clinton should be blamed for her husband's dalances. i have not her much about the what does it matter comment? i would like someone to address the file gate issue when hillary clinton was first lady. >> we didn't know -- go -- into that in the book. she had a press court travelling with her but most american voters trying to judge her probably need added a better

picture. so we didn't go into the travel office scandal or the impeachment. i think most voters in 2016 have a good handle >> why did you title it hrc? >> like john said, i wanted to call it the phoenix. but people call her hrc in her world. aids send e-mail and say did hrc see this? so we thought it was a hip way to refer to her. >> do you think it goes to her brand? >> i don't think hrc is something people knew she was called before this book. it came from the hill. all of the members of congress are referred to by their

initial. so obama was bho. so i think that is where it comes from. and as a result, when you see e-mail communication as a report, they refer to her as hrc and we thought it was simple. it was easy and hopefully it brands the book her than her. >> hi, fred, independent caller. >> thank you for taking my call. just a couple questions on hilary clinton's career and before bill clinton became president he was the governor of arkansas and there was a bank and loan scandal there he and moving up from what is on the internet that hilary clinton

worked for monsanto as an attorney. are you saying she is a viable candidate, but is it much of what the press gives us and books like this? what are we not getting? why are these not brought up? >> this is a tweet that says: we already know all of the skeleton and it is old news to most people. >> i think voters will have that debate if she runs; whether it is old news or not. the senate hearing in benghazi happened in the same room of the 216 studio where the white water investigation went on in the senate. so it isn't these things were not discussed or that they have not been reported on. you remember the chairman and banking committee at the time

going after white water pretty hard during the years and some of the subsequent scandals through out of that. that is a plowed turf >> you write about after ambassador steven's body was brought back, or maybe it was after they get the news, president obama asked the secretary of state if he can go back with her to the state department. >> that meant a lot to her. it meant he was kind of heart-broken over it. she was. she wanted him to come back and see the people and the faces of the state department who were so heartbroken and that moment meant a lot. >> to address and talk to the people at the state department who just lost four of their own including an ambassador who was extremely poplar. i know someone in the foreign class service with him and

remembered him standing out. people liked him; chris stevens that is. president obama came to the state department that next day after the remarks in the rose garden and he made unscripted remarks to the people at the state department >> was it reported on? >> it was, but his actual comments were not. the fact he was there was reported on and bits of his basic sentiment were recorded. he went and met with a group of people who were particularly close to chris steve' -- stevens -- and hilary clinton walked them over. and people not in the clinton world cited that as big thing to

get the healing process. it meant a lot the president was there and the secretary brought him there. >> vermont caller, john, who is a republican. good morning >> i have two questions and a comment. first one is for amy. early on the in the show, you mentioned hilary clinton had her finger on the pulse of everything going on. i know the benghazi came up a lot. but they blamed that on a video and sent folks all over blaming benghazi on a video. i thought it was strange you made that book. and in researching your book, did you read ron brown's body by jack cashhill published in 2004?

it is very insightful book on the history of the clintons and i would recommend people to read it. published in 2004 by wnb books. >> the benghazi video? >> they were trying to piece together what was happening. >> why did -- or did she refuse to go on the sunday talk show? why was susan rice on there? >> hilary clinton goes on the shows when she needs to for a political reason. when she is trailing on the campaign trail, she will do it.

but generally she wants to stay away. there was other stuff to do in this case and i think she recognized the potential political danger and maybe felt it was inappropriate to be out on the television show which there was show much to do in terms of figuring out what happened. once she wasn't available and bookers for this tv shows went to the state beapartment and the hoot house once it was clear it moved to susan rice and she used the talking points that were negotiated and went out beyond what the talking points said. and members of congress decided, susan rice, not all members, but some including republicans, decided she had lied to the public. and hilary clinton was doing

briefings where she talked about arm militants went into the campaign. most of the people thought she said terrorist. the difference between armed and terrorist was a small thing. >> what is something you learned by doing this book about hilary clinton? >> i said this earlier probably. but i came into this thinking she was buttoned up and there wasn't a human side to her. i learned she is not only quite funny, has a wicked sense of humor, but she has a feel of public service/duty for public service. >> i think one of the biggest thing i learned, is behind the shell, and i think all people have one but hers